Dark Side of the Ring is returning for its 7th season in July. A total of 9 episodes will air in this season, and a total of 7 topics will be covered for the show. Here is a list of each topic that will be covered during the season.
TNA & Jeff Jarrett
This topic is going to focus on the Total Nonstop Action promotion and the founder of the company, Jeff Jarrett. There is so much to unpack here that it will require three episodes filled with backstage controversies, wrestling politics, power struggles, Vince Russo’s incompetence, trying to get a fentanyl addicted Hulk Hogan to book the company, etc.
One of the more interesting things they cover is the Jeff Hardy incident at Victory Road 2011, when Hardy showed up high on narcotics during his main event match against Sting and walked out so drunk and high that the match changed to a squash.
Sting immediately hit Hardy with the Scorpion Death Drop and pinned him. That was the most visibly pissed Sting ever was on TV. It will be incredibly intriguing to see how this gets tackled in 3 parts, although it sucks that Dixie Carter declined to be interviewed for this, as she would have been a great voice. There are so many crazy TNA moments that they could have done a whole season on just that promotion.
“Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff
Orndorff does not get mentioned as much as he should, since he was such an underrated part of the Golden Era of WWE, & kickstarting the Hulkamania era. It’s a little surprising that he would get an episode, since there isn’t a ton of known dark stories surrounding the man, excluding that backstage fight he had with Vader. That was covered in the Vader episode last season, so it’s likely they will cover other aspects of his career and the many health issues he had once his career ended.
Orndorff’s career ended in 1995 due to a severe neck injury that caused nerve damage, leading to irreversible muscle atrophy throughout the right side of his body, including his arm, which looked smaller compared to his left one. He did have a brief comeback in 2000, but again aggravated his neck injury and was briefly paralyzed. The weird thing is, the wrestlers still competed while Orndorff was lying in the ring. What a business. Who cares if the wrestler is hurt? Just keep wrestling.
Orndorff suffered from throat cancer in 2011 and was put in a financially bad spot with mounting medical bills. The treatment he got from the cancer, along with the many concussions he suffered in the NFL and pro wrestling, resulted in him having memory issues and eventually being diagnosed with dementia. In fact, his son Travis Orndorff had a video of his dad at the hospital showing how brutal his dementia was, and it is sad to see.
Orndorff’s other son, Paul III, is a real piece of work. It’s hard to keep track of how many times he has been arrested. There is even a story of elder abuse involving his wife and son abandoning Orndorff at a nursing home, and it’s so disgusting. Travis had even filed an adult protective services report to get his dad out of that situation. That has to be covered in this episode.
Big Boss Man
The Big Boss Man is the least surprising topic to be covered this season. The producers of the show hinted at covering this on social media. There is nothing completely dark about the man himself, but there have been crazy moments through his career, especially that Undertaker Hell In A Cell Match at WrestleMania XV.
The match itself was absolutely terrible, but the worst part was the aftermath. The Ministry of Darkness (Undertaker’s faction at the time) lowered a noose into the ring, and Taker wrapped it around Boss Man’s neck. The cage was raised, and Boss Man was hanged, symbolizing a sacrifice. It’s a segment that was controversial, distasteful, and has been scrubbed from a ton of WWE content.
Missy Hyatt
It’s about time the producers did an episode on Missy Hyatt, who never comes across well in interviews or stories. This is the same woman who once admitted to “rocking Jim Ross’s world” and bragging about it, while he was in the hospital dealing with a life-threatening illness. That is not even getting into that Wrestling Vixxen’s website, which she and Tammy “Sunny” Sytch operated, offering risque photos of themselves and other wrestling talents. There are so many stories of Hyatt never paying those talents and other disgusting tactics that were done throughout that era.
The WCW Discrimination lawsuits will absolutely be covered in this episode, and it’s going to paint Eric Bischoff in a poor light. Hyatt has her own allegations about Vince McMahon as well. There are plenty of directions the producers can go with an episode on her, and it will be must-see TV.
Necro Butcher Vs Samoa Joe
There had to be one topic that involved blood, deathmatch, and hardcore. This one involves current AEW superstar Samoa Joe and Independent wrestler Necro Butcher. This match took place in 2005 with the IWA Mid-South promotion at their “Something to Prove” show. It was gruesome, full of stiff hits and chairshots. This match became one of the bloodiest of all time, and it was one of the most legendary matches in the Independent Circuit in the 2000’s. The story behind this match and the aftermath is a topic that will intrigue many casual and hardcore fans.
The Renegade “Richard Wilson”
This will be the most difficult episode to watch. Richard Wilson, aka the Renegade, is best known for his time with WCW. He was not a great worker, but his major issue was that “The Renegade” character was basically a copy-and-paste version of The Ultimate Warrior. The look, the face paint, Hogan referring to him “not being the Ultimate Warrior”, and that entrance music was a total misrepresentation. It was absolutely awful, and it was so misleading that it became one of the first red flags of the decline of the WCW.
This episode is also going to paint WCW and the Ultimate Warrior in a bad light. WCW poorly handled Renegade throughout his time in the promotion, and Jimmy Hart absolutely buried him when he turned on Renegade on WCW TV. That “you could have been the next Hulk Hogan… you’re just plain old Rick” line Hart cut on the Renegade was an absolute burial. The Ultimate Warrior publicly threw The Renegade under the bus in many interviews, in magazines, and on TV. To make it worse, Renegade was relegated to being Warrior’s stunt double when Warrior officially signed.
The Renegade was a complete Jobber in WCW and was eventually released from the promotion in 1998 after he failed a steroid test. Once released, he fell into a deep and dark depression. He failed to find other work in the business and was distraught with how his career in WCW had failed. On February 23, 1999, The Renegade passed away via a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 33 years old and did the act in front of his girlfriend at the time.
Zack Gowen
Gowen is an interesting topic because he has a unique story. Gowen is the first one-legged amputee wrestler to perform in the WWE. Now, he’s not the first amputee to wrestle in WWE, as Kerry Von Erich wrestled without a foot during his brief time in WWE.
How is this story dark? It’s going to feel like the Tony Atlas “Too Much Too Soon” episode from last season, because it was definitely too much too soon for Gowen. He was 19 years old when he joined WWE and got a big push, working with top stars like Brock Lesnar, Sable, Big Show, Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Matt Hardy, etc.
Working with all those names brought one thing: a tremendous ego. Gowen rubbed a lot of people the wrong way backstage and developed a severe addiction to drugs. His addiction got worse once he was released from WWE, and it’s a miracle he is still alive today. He is in a much better place now, as he is sober and still wrestles in the Independent Circuit.
Which Episode Topic Is The Most Intriguing?
Two episodes stand out among the rest. The first is the TNA and Jeff Jarrett episode, especially with how much of a mess TNA has been for decades. The second and most intriguing is the Missy Hyatt episode. Despite her coming off like a tremendous piece of work every time she speaks, there is so much controversy that the producers can explore about her. No matter what, this should be another good season of Dark Side of the Ring.
